Jane Austen Caught in the Act of Greatness: a Diplomatic Transcription and Analysis of the Two Manuscript Chapters of Persuasion and the Manuscript of Sanditon

A Work in Progress This book is an attempt to refute Virginia Woolfs comment on Jane Austen made in 1923 that 'of all great writers she is the most difficult to catch in the act of greatness.'My rebuttal is based on close examination of the pair of remaining manuscripts that show Jane Austen at work on full-length novels, the two chapters of Persuasion in the British Library and the fragment known as Sanditon now housed in Kings College Library, Cambridge. The diplomatic transcriptions replace the flawed work published by R. W. Chapman almost eighty years ago. In addition to the texts of these documents, I have analyzed the step-by-step process of composition, attempting to trace Jane Austens quill as she moved from first draft to 'final' product, which may or may not have been what she would eventually publish. However, comparison of the Persuasion chapters with the text that appeared posthumously late in 1817 reveals many important similarities. Contrary to Virginia Woolfs pronouncement, I believe that we can catch Jane Austen in the act of greatness.